Apparatus for the continuous treatment, particularly dyeing, of fibrous material

ABSTRACT

A process for the continuous treatment, particularly dyeing, preferably of essentially one-dimensional fibrous material which includes the steps of first impregnating the fibrous material with a dye-containing liquid, depositing the fibrous material in the dye-impregnated condition, onto a conveying means moving at a lower speed than the delivery speed of the fibrous material carrying the fibrous material by the conveying means into a heat treatment chamber, conducting the dye-impregnated material through a heat treatment chamber for the fixation of the dye, thereafter washing the fibrous material and optionally providing it with additives on the same conveying means, drying the fibrous material likewise in a dense and compact condition, and finally taking the fibrous material off for windup or orderly deposition. Also, an apparatus for carrying out this process is disclosed.

United States Patent Fleissner et al.

[ APPARATUS FOR THE CONTINUOUS TREATMENT, PARTICULARLY DYEING, OF FIBROUS MATERIAL [75] Inventors: Heinz Fleissner, Egelsbach near Frankfurt/Main; Ernst Wilhelm, Ludwigshafen, both of Germany [73] Assignee: Vepa AG, Riehen, Switzerland [22] Filed: Mar. 27, 1972 [2]] Appl. No.: 238,332

[52] U.S. Cl. 68/5 D, 68/DIG. 5 [51] Int. Cl. B05c 9/14 [58] Field of Search 68/DIG. 5, 5 D, 5 E, 19.1,

68/22 R, 205 R, 20; 8/l49.1

[451 Sept. 17, 1974 3,608,l09 9/1971 Fleissner et al 8/l49.l

Primary Examiner-Harvey C. Hornsby Assistant ExaminerPhilip R. Coe

Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Craig & Antonelli [57] ABSTRACT A process for the continuous treatment, particularly dyeing, preferably of essentially one-dimensional fibrous material which includes the steps of first impregnating the fibrous material with a dye-containing liquid, depositing the fibrous material in the dyeimpregnated condition, onto a conveying means moving at a lower speed than the delivery speed of the fibrous material carrying the fibrous material by the conveying means into a heat treatment chamber, conducting the dye-impregnated material through a heat treatment chamber for the fixation of the dye, thereaf- [56] References Clted ter washing the fibrous material and optionally provid- UNITED STATES PATENTS ing it with additives on the same conveying means, 2,736,632 2/1956 Blau 68/5 E X drying the fibrous material likewise in a dense and 2,755,5l3 7/l956 Fleissner 68/DIG. 5 compact ondition and finally taking the fibrous mag terial off for windup or orderly deposition. Also, an ilffi 3,503,231 3/1970 Fleissner et all 68/5 E apparatus for cmymg out process dlsclosed' 3,518,848 7/1970 Becker 68/205 R X 17 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures ll j i t i Q Z m m [WW] PAIENTED SEP! 7 1974 APPARATUS FOR THE CONTINUOUS TREATMENT, PARTICULARLY DYEING, OF FIBROUS MATERIAL This invention relates to a process and apparatus for the continuous treatment, particularly dyeing, preferably of essentially one-dimensional fibrous material (e. g. yarn) which is first impregnated with a liquid such as a dye, then conducted through a heat treatment chamber for the fixation of the dye, and thereafter dried.

The dyeing of endless single filaments such as yarns, for example, is nowadays still conducted in a discontinuous manner. For this purpose, the material is wound as loosely as possible on a liquid-permeable dye tube and introduced into special circulation dyeing devices. In these devices, the tube is subjected to a repeated throughflow of the heated dye liquor from the inside toward the outside, until the dye has completely attached itself to the fibers of the yarn. The rinsing step which is necessary in certain cases can be effected in the same device; however, the yarn package must be mounted for drying purposes in order to be able to dye the yarn in rope or hank form. By means of the discontinuously operating winch vats, it is possible to dye ropes as well.

The discontinuous mode of operation is not only very expensive with respect to personnel and time; but also, in most cases, the desired quality of dyeing cannot be attained. When dyeing in a yarn package, there is the danger of a nonuniform hue over the cross section'of the package, since the package is wound more tightly in the core than in the outer zone. Furthermore, the yarns cannot be uniformly swelled in the package, which is true, in particular, for the high swellable yarns, since due to the required tight winding, swelling by steaming is prevented at the contact points between the adjacent yarns.

For the continuous treatment, especially dyeing, of yarns or the like, it has become known to wind the dyeimpregnated yarns helically about one or more rotating supporting belts which are inclined with respect to one another toward an outlet end and which transport the yarns continuously through a heat treatment chamber. Thereafter the yarns are again wound up. Even though it is possible to conduct a continuous dyeing procedure with such apparatus, on the one hand, this apparatus is suitable only for low production speeds, because the supporting belts, for constructional reasons, cannot be installed in the apparatus at any desired lengths. On the other hand, the yarns so treated cannot be washed on this apparatus in order to remove the unfixed dye residues. Also, it is not possible to apply any desired amount of dye to the filaments, which is necessary for several types of yarns. This is not possible because, starting at a certain percentage, the centrifugal force during the winding of the yarns about the supporting belts exceeds the force of adhesion of the dye to the threads, so that dye is sprayed or flung out into the surroundings. Furthermore, the construction of the apparatus is very complicated with regard to its structure and thus susceptible to frequent servicing.

Also, solely for the continuous swelling or bulging of the yarns, a device is conventional to which the yarns, which have been dyed discontinuously or which are still to be dyed, are fed. This device consists essentially only of an endless conveyor belt traveling through a steaming chamber. The yarns to be swelled are placed, with a turntable, onto a feed belt in spiral shape and then, after having been turned by 180 so that they can be removed more readily at the end of the treatment, are deposited on the endless belt traveling through the steamer. The swelling effect on such devices is quite satisfactory. However, it is impossible, to conduct a dyeing procedure with such devices primarily because of the turntable necessary in these machines.

Starting with the known processes and apparatus heretofore described, the invention is based on the problem of developing, in addition to a process, also an apparatus for conducting this process, by means of which it is possible not only to continuously dye any type of fibrous material, any yarn quality, in any desired hue, but also to effect a washing and swelling operation in the same operating step, wherein the apparatus is to be as simple as possible with respect to its construction.

The solution of the posed problem is seen, according to this invention, in providing that the fibrous material e.g., yarn or the like, in a dye-impregnated condition, is deposited (free of tension) onto a conveying means which moves more slowly than the delivery speed of the fibrous material; thematerial is carried by this conveying means through a heat treatment chamber; the material is thereafter washed and optionally provided with additives on the same conveying means; and the material is finally dried, while likewise being in the compact condition, and, at last, is rapidly taken off again for windup or orderly deposition. It is of special advantage for the process according to the invention to deposit the dye-impregnated fibrous material without substantial contact on the conveying means.

Another process, equivalent to the first-mentioned process, resides in placing the fibrous material, in the undyed condition, on a conveying means traveling at a speed slower than the delivery speed of the fibrous material being fed to the conveying means; impregnating the material with dye on this conveying means; and then treating the material identically as in the firstmentioned procedure. For dyeing purposes, the material can have the dye sprinkled or sprayed thereon, wherein preferably the excess liquor is recovered and again applied to the material in a subsequent section, and so forth, until the entire dye has been absorbed by the material.

Yarn or other continuous essentially onedimensional material, e.g., threads, ribbons, ropes, etc, can be optimally treated in a continuous manner according to both processes. This holds true for the dyeing result of any imaginable types of yarn, as well as for the swelling effect. A satisfactory result can be attained especially if the fibrous material is deposited on the conveyor belt inv a random arrangement. This eliminates the contact points with the adjacent yarns at constant intervals, and one need not expect the danger of breaks in the yarn or a swelling result which is nonuniform over the length of the yarn.

The apparatus of this invention for conducting one of these processes is essentially characterized by an elongated treatment chamber or housing, traversed in the longitudinal direction by a sieve or perforated conveyor belt, the first part of this chamber is fashioned as a heat treatment chamber and the subsequent part of which is fashioned as a washing chamber; Such a device has been suggested by the inventors. Thereby, the plant can be designed without any difficulties for the respectively required production speed. The length of the heat treatment chamber need only be predetermined to the respectively necessary fixation time for the dyes to be employed. If desired, the sieve conveyor belt can also extend through a drying chamber adjoining the washing section, which makes it possible for the fibrous material deposited on the conveyor belt to travel in one and the same position without any change from one conveying means to another through all of the treatment stages.

As has been found in practice, it is not absolutely necessary to provide, for the drying step, a conveyor belt which extends from the washing section; conse' quently, the drying unit can also be arranged above or beneath the heat treatment and washing chamber. For example, if the drying unit is to extend, in the form of a chamber containing a sieve conveyor belt above the treatment chamber, then it is advantageous to dispose, at the end of the first endless sieve conveyor belt, a sieve drum preferably being under a suction draft,

around which drum a sieve conveyor belt extends which is provided approximately starting at the inlet of the treating apparatus device and travels through the drying chamber. In this manner, the fibrous material can be introduced into the apparatus, as well as withdrawn therefrom, at the same level.

However, it is also possible to arrange, downstream of the washing chamber, a sieve drum device for drying the material, which device, as is known, achieves optimum results in the drying process. The device, if possible, should consist of an even number of drums so that the yarns can be taken off more readily from the ran dom or irregular position.

If a sieve drum dryer is provided as the drying unit, a thread take-off device can directly engage the material adhering to the sieve drum in the dryer. However, it can also be advantageous to have the sieve drum dryer followed by an endless belt from which the yarns can then be withdrawn via a rather long compensating path or section.

The washing of the fixed fibrous material is suitably conducted according to the principle of the conventional spray washing method. For this purpose, at least one spraying device is to be provided above the endless belt in the washing chamber and, correspondingly, one or more collecting tanks underneath the endless belt. After each spraying step, a rather lightweight squeezing press should be provided which also receives the endless conveyor belt in its squeeze nip, in addition to the fibrous material. At the end of the washing chamber, a high-power or output squeezing press should be arranged so that a strongly dewatered (i.e., squeezed relatively dry) fibrous material can be fed to the subsequent dryer.

The continuous plant can be utilized for any type of imaginable dyeing or printing procedure, because of the use of an endless sieve conveyor belt carrying the material through the fixing or heat treatment chamber. If the endless belt extends outside of the inlet of the treatment chamber, the yarn can be wetted by means of any desired dyeing apparatus for solid (nondistributive) dyeing, for printing, or also for obtaining a space-dye effect, with the desired dye or with several dyes. It is also possible to have the endless sieve conveyor belt reverse within the treatment chamber, so that the fibrous material is deposited on the sieve belt, with the aid of a thread-laying device, only within the treatment chamber. This feature is connected with the advantage that at the inlet no air can flow into the treatment chamber fashioned as a steaming unit, which air would interfere with the fixation process. Also, the endless belt is not cooled down at the inlet, which must otherwise be compensated for by an additionally provided heating element at the point where the material is deposited thereon.

If the fibrous material has not already been wetted with the dye prior to being deposited on the endless belt by means of a suitable device, ie. if the material is placed on the belt in the undyed condition, a sprinkling device is to be arranged for dyeing purposes, either within or outside of the chamber. Suitably, several sprinkling devices are disposed in series, each subsequent device being fed with the used liquor or the preceding device. In this manner, the dye liquor can be utilized until it is completely devoid of dye particles.

The process and apparatus of this invention will be further understood from the following detailed description of three embodiments of a continuous treatment plant and by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a continuous yarn treatment plant of this invention;

FIG. 2 shows the plant of FIG. 1 with modifications in the construction of the inlet and outlet; and

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of still another embodiment of a continuous yarn treatment plant having different arrangements therein.

The essential components of the treatment plant illustrated in FIG. I for the dyeing and swelling of f1- brous materials, especially yarns, comprise a device, noted by reference numeral 1, for taking off the yarns from bobbins 2 and for dyeing the yarns including a unit 3 which unit simultaneously dyes and deposits the yarns in a random disposition onto the subsequent endless sieve belt 4. Several of such units 3, one for each yarn, are arranged side-by-side. Furthermore, the plant includes a sieve belt unit 5, comprising a heat treatment section 6 which can be fashioned as a steaming chamber or hot-air chamber, and a washing chamber 7 wherein the non-fixed dye residues are removed from the yarn. A drying device follows the sieve belt unit 5; this drying device, in accordance with FIGS. 1 and 2, is designed as a sieve drum dryer 8. The dryer 8 is provided with two sieve drums 9 and the yarn material is guided along the underside of the first drum and along the topside of the second drum. If the sieve drum dryer is equipped with an even number of sieve drums, then the yarn material contacts the last drum in a position reversed by as compared to the position at the inlet. This arrangement facilitates the take-off of the yarn windings directly from the drum. This embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 2. However, it can be just as advantageous to arrange an endless belt 10, as seen from FIG. 1, adjacent to the sieve drum dryer 8; from this belt, at a minor angle with respect to the belt, the yarns are withdrawn by means of a take-off device it and the yarns are then, for example, deposited in cans or wound up on spools.

The endless sieve belt 4 extending through the heat treatment chamber 6 and the washing chamber 7 can extend at the inlet as in FIGS. 1 and 3 to the outside of the chamber 6. However, it is also possible to arrange the guide roller 12 of the belt 4, as seen from FIG. 2, behind the end wall of the chamber 6. This arrangement attains the effect that it is impossible for any disadvantageous fresh air to penetrate at the inlet slot for the belt, which would otherwise have to be provided into the heating chamber which is fashioned, for example, as a steaming unit. The dyeing unit 3, which may advantageously be constructed simultaneously as a thread-transporting means, can, in this case, extend through the end wall of the heat treatment chamber 6 and convey the yarns directly into the treatment chamber. Furthermore, in this case, a heating unit 13 (shown in FIG. 1), which would otherwise have to be provided for the endless belt 4 in the zone of the threaddepositing stage, can be eliminated.

The washing chamber 7 includes several spraying units 14 which spray washing fluid onto the yarn disposed on the belt 4. Liquid collecting tanks 14 are arranged underneath the respective spraying device 14, by which, respectively, the washing liquid is further conducted countercurrently to the preceding spraying device. Behind each spraying device 14, squeezing elements 15 are provided which, for purposes of improving the washing procedure, exert such a pressure on the yarn material and on the sieve belt 4 that satisfactory dewatering takes place, without stressing the belt with respect to its strength. A high-power press 16 is provided at the end of the sieve belt unit 5, in order to provide and to feed a strongly dewatered material to the subsequent dryer 8.

The continuous yarn treatment plant according to FIG. 3 is similar to that of FIG. 1 in essential respects, and for this reason identical reference numerals have been employed for similar elements. In this plant, still further possibilities for dyeing and a different type of drying procedure are additionally illustrated. On the one hand, the undyed yarn, deposited in random condition onto the endless belt 4, can be provided with dye liquor by means of pressure unit 17 or by means of a space-dye device 18. On the other hand, it is also possible to pour dye liquor onto the yarn, for which purpose the individual spray elements 19 outside of the treatment chamber 6 and 20, 21 within the treatment chamber 6 are illustrated. The dye liquor discharged by the spray unit 19 and collected in the collecting tank 19' is suitably transferred, either via a cascade system or by means of connecting pipes, to the subsequent spray unit 20, in order to obtain a complete depletion of the dye in the liquid.

As the drying apparatus in the plant of FIG. 3, a belt dryer 22 is provided with a final conditioning section 23. This dryer extends over the entire sieve belt unit 5, so that the yarn can be introduced and also taken off again at approximately the same level into and out of this apparatus arrangement. A sieve drum 25 under a suction draft serves as the transfer element for the dyed and washed yarn. This sieve drum is enveloped by an endless sieve belt 24 which travels through the belt dryer 22. By means of the suction draft produced in the sieve drum 25 by a fan, illustrated by a circle, the yarn material lying on the endless belt 4 is lifted off the belt 4 without any further difficulties, conducted to the topside of the belt 24, and transported through the belt dryer 22. At the end of dryer 22, the conditioning compartment 23 can also be provided which, of course, is also possible in case of a sieve drum dryer.

While the novel embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be understood that various omissions, modifications and changes in these embodiments may be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for the continuous treatment, particularly dyeing, of yarn and the like fibrous material which comprises an elongated treatment chamber having a first section formed as a heat treatment chamber and a subsequent section formed as a washing chamber, an endless sieve conveyor belt means for conveying the material to be treated longitudinally traversing said elongated treatment chamber, means for depositing the material to be treated in a random manner, free of tension, onto said endless conveyor belt means, a sieve drum unit containing at least one sieve drum subjected to a suction draft arranged after the washing chamber for drying the material to be treated, and a take-off means arranged behind the sieve drum drying unit for removing the material from a sieve drum in said sieve drum drying unit; said washing chamber being provided with a plurality of washing units for applying a washing liquid to the material on said endless sieve conveyor belt means with liquid collecting means operatively associated with each of said units for receiving said washing liquid positioned beneath said endless sieve conveyor belt means.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, in which a drying chamber extends above the heat treatment and washing chambers.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, in which said sieve drum is associated with an end of the endless sieve conveyor belt means, said take-off means including another endless sieve conveyor belt means and said sieve drum being enveloped by said another endless belt conveyor means which reaches back approximately to an inlet of said apparatus and extends through said drying chamber.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said take-off means includes another endless belt means positioned after said sieve drum drying unit and a yarn take-off device for engaging the material in the form of yarn disposed on said another endless belt means.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, in which in order for the washing chamber to conduct a spray washing process, said plurality of washing units comprise a plurality of spraying devices above the endless belt means and correspondingly said plurality of liquid collecting devices comprise a plurality of liquid collecting tanks underneath the endless belt means.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, in which each spraying device is followed by a rather light-weight squeezing press, through which the belt means carrying the material is passed.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, in which a high-output squeezing press is arranged at an end of the washing chamber.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, in which the endless sieve belt means extends at an inlet of the apparatus outside of the elongated treatment chamber and the material is deposited within a free portion of the belt means located outside of the chamber.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, in which the endless sieve conveyor belt means is associated with a dyeing unit.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, in which said dyeing unit comprises several sprinkling means disposed in series, wherein the subsequent one is, in each case, fed with the used dye-containing liquid of the preceding sprinkling means.

11. The apparatus according to claim 8, in which the endless sieve conveyor belt means is exposed to a heating unit upstream of a point where the fibrous material is deposited on said endless sieve conveyor belt means.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, in which the endless sieve conveyor belt means has a guide roller that is arranged within the heat treatment chamber, and a fibrous material depositing means extends through an end wall of the treatment chamber and the fibrous material is deposited thereby onto the belt means within the chamber.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1, in which the heat treatment chamber is a hot-air chamber.

14. The apparatus according to claim 1, in which the heat treatment chamber is a steamer.

15. The apparatus according to claim 1, in which said means for depositing said material to be treated also applies dye to said material.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, in which said material to be treated comprises a plurality of continuous yarns and said means for depositing material onto said endless conveyor belt means comprises a plurality of dyeing units arranged side-by-side across the width of said endless sieve conveyor belt.

17. The apparatus according to claim 1, in which said take-ofi" means comprises a yarn take-off device arranged behind the sieve drum drying unit to engage di rectly the material in the form of yarn adhering to a sieve drum in said sieve drum drying unit. 

1. An apparatus for the continuous treatment, particularly dyeing, of yarn and the like fibrous material which comprises an elongated treatment chamber having a first section formed as a heat treatment chamber and a subsequent section formed as a washing chamber, an endless sieve conveyor belt means for conveying the material to be treated longitudinally traversing said elongated treatment chamber, means for depositing the material to be treated in a random manner, free of tension, onto said endless conveyor belt means, a sieve drum unit containing at least one sieve drum subjected to a suction draft arranged after the washing chamber for drying the material to be treated, and a take-off means arranged behind the sieve drum drying unit for removing the material from a sieve drum in said sieve drum drying unit; said washIng chamber being provided with a plurality of washing units for applying a washing liquid to the material on said endless sieve conveyor belt means with liquid collecting means operatively associated with each of said units for receiving said washing liquid positioned beneath said endless sieve conveyor belt means.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, in which a drying chamber extends above the heat treatment and washing chambers.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, in which said sieve drum is associated with an end of the endless sieve conveyor belt means, said take-off means including another endless sieve conveyor belt means and said sieve drum being enveloped by said another endless belt conveyor means which reaches back approximately to an inlet of said apparatus and extends through said drying chamber.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said take-off means includes another endless belt means positioned after said sieve drum drying unit and a yarn take-off device for engaging the material in the form of yarn disposed on said another endless belt means.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, in which in order for the washing chamber to conduct a spray washing process, said plurality of washing units comprise a plurality of spraying devices above the endless belt means and correspondingly said plurality of liquid collecting devices comprise a plurality of liquid collecting tanks underneath the endless belt means.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 5, in which each spraying device is followed by a rather light-weight squeezing press, through which the belt means carrying the material is passed.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 6, in which a high-output squeezing press is arranged at an end of the washing chamber.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, in which the endless sieve belt means extends at an inlet of the apparatus outside of the elongated treatment chamber and the material is deposited within a free portion of the belt means located outside of the chamber.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 8, in which the endless sieve conveyor belt means is associated with a dyeing unit.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 9, in which said dyeing unit comprises several sprinkling means disposed in series, wherein the subsequent one is, in each case, fed with the used dye-containing liquid of the preceding sprinkling means.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 8, in which the endless sieve conveyor belt means is exposed to a heating unit upstream of a point where the fibrous material is deposited on said endless sieve conveyor belt means.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 1, in which the endless sieve conveyor belt means has a guide roller that is arranged within the heat treatment chamber, and a fibrous material depositing means extends through an end wall of the treatment chamber and the fibrous material is deposited thereby onto the belt means within the chamber.
 13. The apparatus according to claim 1, in which the heat treatment chamber is a hot-air chamber.
 14. The apparatus according to claim 1, in which the heat treatment chamber is a steamer.
 15. The apparatus according to claim 1, in which said means for depositing said material to be treated also applies dye to said material.
 16. The apparatus according to claim 15, in which said material to be treated comprises a plurality of continuous yarns and said means for depositing material onto said endless conveyor belt means comprises a plurality of dyeing units arranged side-by-side across the width of said endless sieve conveyor belt.
 17. The apparatus according to claim 1, in which said take-off means comprises a yarn take-off device arranged behind the sieve drum drying unit to engage directly the material in the form of yarn adhering to a sieve drum in said sieve drum drying unit. 